Apparatus for temporarily connecting a conventional bolted rail to a laid portion of a continuous welded rail of a railway track

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for use in temporarily operationally connecting one or both rails of bolted railway track to a laid portion of continuous welded rail or rails of railway track, without permanently bending or cutting the welded rail, during the course of removal of bolted or jointed rails and replacement thereof with continuous welded rail, when it is desired to connect a bolted rail and a welded rail to enable train traffic thereover.

United States Patent l5 ll Inventor Henry Borst Box 266, Waymart, Pa.18472 Appl. No. 716,799 Filed Mar. 28, 1968 Patented July 20, 1971APPARATUS FOR TEMPORARILY CONNECTING A CONVENTIONAL BOLTED RAIL TO ALAID PORTION OF A CONTINUOUS WELDED RAIL 0F A RAILWAY TRACK 3 Claims, 6Drawing Figs.

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[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,427,737 8/1922 Henke238/21 1,497,066 6/1924 Burton 238/21 1,818,885 8/1931 Enstrom 246/4351,672,865 6/1928 Allendorfet al 238/21 Primary Examiner-Arthur L.LaPoin't Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorneys-Gardner J.OBoyle and .lames G. OBoyle ABSTRACT: Apparatus for use in temporarilyoperationally connecting one or both rails of bolted railway track to alaid portion of' continuous vwelded rail or rails of railway track,without permanently bending or cutting the welded rail, during thecourse of removal of bolted or jointed rails and replacement thereofwith continuous welded rail, when it is desired to connect a bolted railand a welded rail to enable train traffic thereover,

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INVENTOR HENRY V. EIORST APPARATUS FOR TEMPORARILY CONNECTING ACONVENTIONAL BOL'IED RAIL T0 A LAID PORTION OF A CONTINUOUS WELDED RAILOF A RAILWAY TRACK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Continuous welded rail(C.W.R.) as defined by American Railway Engineering Association,consists of sufficient lengths of conventional rail welded together toform a string 40() feet or longer. The strings currently employed veryin length from 1,320 feet to 1,440 feet, approximately, and a train loadof continuous ribbons or strings, each string being one-quarter of amile long, usually consists of 40 strings equal to l0 miles of rail ortrack miles.

ln recent years, there has been considerable activity by many railroadsto utilize continuous welded rail, in lieu of conventional bolted rail,and some roads have adopted it as standard for replacement of boltedrails and for new installations in connection with the construction ofcutoffs or other line i changes.

It will be appreciated that the handling and installation of continuouswelded rail requires special equipment in order that the rail gang maylay this type of rail faster and more efficiently than conventionalbolted rails. The man-hours required to lay a track mile of welded railvaries according to the method employed, conditions encountered, and thenature of the operation, that is to say, whether laying the rail onsingle track under traffic, or on multiple tracks where one track can beclosed to traffic. Of course, the ideal condition when laying rails,whether welded or bolted, is to divert all traffic so that the crew willhave substantially full on-track working time; however, as a practicalmatter, this condition is rarely encountered and it is difficult, if notimpossible, to achieve.

With reference to diversion of traic so that the track crew may havefull on-track working time, a decision in this regard will be basedprimarily on a study of the economic feasibility of diverting the traie,and it will be appreciated that the results of such study will be interms of expense incident to diverting traffic versus permitting reducedflow of traffic by employing the methods andprocedures heretoforepracticed. The expense involved in connection with diverting traffic isin terms of loss of revenue normally received for transportingpassengers and freight over the closed portion of track during theperiod traffic is interrupted. The expense incurred in connection withreduced How of traffic depends upon a number of factors, and moreparticularly (l) upon the frequency of which the rails are temporarilyconnected to permit train traf fic thereover, (2) the time required todisconnect the rails to allow the track replacement operation toproceed, and (3) the method employed to temporarily connect the rails.

Assuming that a study of the project for replacing bolted rails withcontinuous welded rails indicates that it would be advisable to permitreduced flow of train traffic, the principal item of expense incidentthereto will be the time required to temporarily, operationally connectthe rails and to disconnect the same, so that the track gang can resumeinstallation of the welded rails. ln accordance with present practice,from 2--3 hours are required to install a string of continuous weldedrail 1,400 feet long, and if the operation is such that train traffic ispermitted, it is necessary to cut the welded rail at an ap propriatepoint beyond the end of the laid portion thereof, and then connect thefree end portion of the welded rail and the contiguous end portion ofthe conventional rail by means of suitable clamps, joint bars and thelike. A eut is made by burning the rail, and this operation usuallyrequires the services of a welder and a helper; after the rail has beencut, it is drilled preparatory to temporarily connecting it to theconventional rail, and when the period allotted for train trafficexpires, the temporary connection is disconnected, and the free ends ofthe welded rail portions are permanently joined by welding. ln view ofthe man-hours required to connect and disconnect the rails so thatinstallation of welded rail can be resumed, plus the cost of thematerial involved, it has been found that cvcn under favorableconditions, the minimum cost at current rates will be something of theorder of $1000() or more, each time a welded rail and a conventionalrail are conA nccted and disconnected, in accordance with the abovedescribed procedure,

Another item of expense is the per diem charge for foreign cars, namely,cars belonging to other railroads which ears usually must be returned tothe home roads" before midnight, otherwisc the user road will be chargedfor another day for each car. Additional expense for many railroads alsoarises in connection with so-callcd Iconnection time," that is to say,the particular time which the railroads guarantee arrival of theirtrains at a specific connection or location; and failure to perform isconsidered a breach of contract, so to speak, resulting in forfeiture ofa sum of money, which is frequently a substantial amount.

Accordingly, the above-noted potential extra costs are furtherindicative of the desirability of increasing the volume of train trafficnormally permitted during the course of replacement of the rails of arailway track, in accordance with present practice, and with concomitantincrease of on-track working time bythe track crew during a regular workday,

After considerable research and experimentation, l have found that alaid portion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section ofconventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track, canbe temporarily, operationally connected during the course of replacementof bolted rail with continuous welded rail, without permanently bendingor cutting or severing thc welded rail in order to temporarily con neetthc rails according to the teachings of the prior art. Moreparticularly, l have found that by means of the apparatus of the presentinvention that the track may be closed up to permit normal train trafficin a relatively short time, as compared with conventional methods, andat approximately 5 percentl0 percent of the cost of such methods,including the time required to disconnect the rails when installation ofwelded rail is to be resumed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The improved construction for temporarily,operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuouswelded rail and a laid section of bolted rail during the course ofreplacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail, withoutcutting or severing the welded rail, comprises, essentially, a switchpoint, including heel and tip portions, supported on cross ties with theheel portion connected in abutting relation with the terminal end of thelaid section of the bolted rail, the tip portion being positioned incontiguous relation with the welded rail and merging therewith, andmeans to immobilize the switch point in the operative position withrespect to the laid portion of the welded rail, comprising a pluralityof guard rail clamps constructed and arranged in predetermined relationlongitudinally of the switch point between selected pairs of cross ties,and a plurality of adjustable switch slides secured to selectedintermediate ties, with the switch point supported thereon.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved construction fortemporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a string ofcontinuous welded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail,constituting one rail of a railway track, during the course ofreplacement of the bolted rail with continuous welded rail on existingcross ties, without cutting or otherwise severing the welded rail, orbending the same.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved constructionfor temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a stringof continuous: welded rail and a laid section of conventional railwithout cutting or severing the welded rail, said improved constructionbeing designed whereby the temporary, operational connection between thewelded rail and the bolted rail may be economically achieved in arelatively short period of time, as compared with prior 3 methods, thussubstantially increasing the on-track time of the track crew.' l

Yet another yobject of my invention is to provide an improvedconstruction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portionof a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventionalbolted rail, during the course of replacement of the bolted rail withthe welded rail, without cutting or severing the welded rail, saidconstruction being designed whereby the welded rail may be connected tothe bolted rail in substantially less time and at approximately onetenthof the cost of temporarily connecting the rails in accordance withpresent methods.

Still-another object of my invention is to provide an improvedconstruction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portionof a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section of conventionalbolted rail of a railway track, said construction being designed wherebythe track may be closed up at the end of the workday to permit traintraffic thcrcover until the track laying operations are resumed the nextworkday.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved constructionfor temporarily, operationally connecting the laid portion of a stringof welded rail with a laid section of bolted rail, during the course ofreplacement of the bolted rail with the welded rail, without cutting orsevering the welded rail, said construction comprising a relativelysmall number of components which are of' strong and sturdy constructionadapted to be repeatedly employed for their intended purpose over a longperiod of time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a schematic plan view showing thelaid portion of a string of continuous welded rail temporarily,operationally connected to a laid section of conventional bolted rail,in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the portion of FIG. l embodying theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 33 of F IG. 2;

FIG. 4 is asectional view along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line S-S of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a view along line 6-6 ofFIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, andmore particularly to FIG. l,

there is shown a string of continuous welded rail designated v generallyby numeral l0, having a laid portion ll, temporarily, operationallyconnected as at l2 to a laid section of one of the conventional boltedrails 13 of a railroad track supported on crossties 14; and adiagrammatic view of railroad train units 15 traveling on the boltedrails in the direction of' the means employed to close up the trackbetween the end of one of the bolted rails and the laid portion of thewelded rail.

Reference being had to FIG. 2, which is an enlarged plan view of theportion of FIG. l embodying the improved construction of the presentinvention, comprising a switch point 16 of the same weight of rail asthe welded rail, having its heel portion 17 connected to the end portionof the bolted rail I3 by means of angle bars 18 and associated bolts 19,the tip portion 20 of the switch point being positioned in contiguousrelation with the angularly disposed portion 2l of the welded rail, theend portion 22 of the tip merging with the rectilinear portion 23 of thewelded rail, as shown.

The means employed to immobilizc the switch point 16 in the operativeposition with respect to thc laid portion Il of the welded rail,comprises novel guard rail clamps 24, 25 and 26, having wedges 27 andkeys 27a, as will be described more fully hereinafter, said guard railclamps being positioned between pairs of ties 14 at the tip end of theswitch point, at a point intermediate the tip and heel portions, and atthe heel portion, respectively. In addition, adjustable switch slides 28and braces may be used on each tie or on every other tie. If anadjustable slide and brace is used on every other tie, then a frog slideor hook plate 29 is used on each of the remaining ties. While onlysingle frog or hook plates are shown, it will be understood that twinhook plates may be employed, if desired, arranged side by side on atieand facing in opposite directions. For purposes of illustration, it hasbeen assumed that the second rail of the track is conventional boltedrail 13 supported on standard tie plates 30, and secured to the tics bymeans of spikes.

Referring to FIG. 3, one ofthe adjustable switch slides 28 is shown inthe operative position with respect to the welded rail 10 seated on asuitable tic plate 3l, the wedge member 32 of the slide being retainedin adjusted wedging position against the face of the web portion 33 ofthe rail by means ofa pivotal detent 34, constructed and arranged toseat in a registering slot 35 of the wedge. The tie plate 3l and flange36 of the switch point I6 are secured tothe tie 14 by means of spikes 37driven into the tie through openings formed in the plate. In FIG. 4, asingle hook plate 29 is shown in the operative position with its hookmember 38 projecting over the upper surface of the bottom flange 39 onthe rail I0, the switch point I6 being clamped in fixed position bymeans of spikes 37; and the guard rail clamp 24 nearest the heel portionof the switch point 16 is shown in FIG. 5, together with wedges 27having portions 27' adapted for frictional bearing engagement with thecurvilinear surfaces 40 of the end portions 4I of the clamps.

The procedure in connection with the replacement of the old rail withwelded rail is as follows: permission must first be obtained from thetrain dispatcher before the rail gang can begin to work on the track.Assuming that the dispatcher authorizes the foreman to proceed with thework for a period of approximately l hour or more, the foreman thendecides how much old rail can be removed and thereafter replaced withwelded rail, within the allotted time. There are several operationswhich must be completed after the old rail is removed before the weldedrail is placed; for example, removal of the old tie plates, plugging thespike holes, adzing the ties and replacing the tie plates, As theabove-noted operations progress, the welded rail is laid, and when theforeman selects the stopping point, the switch point is connected to theold rail, the tics are adzed, if necessary, and the guard rail clampspositioned between selected pairs of tics, switch slides and the hookplates are placed on the ties under the switch point. When the cranewhich handles the welded rail reaches the switch point, the operatorplaces the welded rail to the outside of the switch point and holds itagainst the switch point until one guard rail clamp is tightened and onetie is spiked. If the welded rail has been laid from the center of thetrack, the crane moves over the switch point and removes the remainingunlaid portion of thc rail from the center of the track to the outsidethereof on the shoulder of the road bed. When work is resumed, the railis laid on the ties directly from the shoulder.

As indicated hereinabove, the track may be closed up at the end of theworkday, in order to permit train traffic thereover until track layingoperations are resumed the next workday. When the temporary connectionis left in the track overnight, for example, it is connected to thesignal circuit, and the trains operate at normal speeds. In this regard,reference again being had to FIG. 2, the signal circuit comprises a bondwire 42 having one end welded to the old rail, the opposite end of thewire being welded to the switch point, on the outside of the ball ofrail, which is the standard location. There is also a connecting wire 43between the old rail and the welded rail just beyond the end of theswitch point. lt will be understood that when making a temporaryconnection to permit passage of only one train, wires 42 and 43 may beclamped to thc rails so as to complete the signal circuit. When thetemporary connection is left in the track overnight, a switch box 44having electrical circuit breakers connected through suitable leads tothe signal circuit, is positioned outside of the welded rail on the endportion of the first tie at the tip of the switch point. lf for anyreason, the switch point opens, the circuit breakers are actuated toopen the signal circuit, thus causing the signals to move to stopposition,

JSome railroads operate trains every hour or less, and where certain ofthese roads operate single track, with a relatively large number oftrains, it would be practically impossible to place welded rail underthese conditions, in accordance with prior suggested methods, whereinthe welded rail is severed,

, then bolted tothe old rail to close up the track to permit traintraffic, and is uncoupled from the old rail when laying of welded railis resumed. ln addition to the time required to sever the new rail, boltit to the old rail, disconnect it, and then reweld the new rail to forma continuous rail, requires approximately one-half hour beforeoperations can begin after a train or trains have passed. This timeincludes placing the track machines and other equipment on the trackfrom an access road, and bring some machines from the clearance pointswitch. By means of the construction employed in accordance with thepresent invention, with close timing and efficient planning, a portionof welded rail can be laid every hour.

As explained hereinabove, the welded rail is held against the outside ofthe switch point by the crane operator until one guard rail clamp istightened and one tie is spiked. The operations are completed in liveminutes by two men, while the crane is moving to clearance; andapproximately the same period of time for two men to remove thetemporary connection after a train passes. When applying the weldedrail, it is laid in a direction so that the old rail can be removedwhile the crane is returning from the clearance point.

Other situations arise in which the construction of the presentinvention can be economically employed while the rail gang is waiting atrain after the track has been closed up. For example, it sometimeshappens the train is delayed because of a hotbox, crippled cars,stalling on grades, engine failure or derailment. These delays would notbe long enough to install a string of welded rail, but the traindispatcher would permit rail gangs to work on the track provided itcould be closed up in a matter of a few minutes.

lt will be appreciated that when the track is closed up, as describedhereinabove, to permit train traffic thereover, such traffic may proceedat normal speed, that is to say, it is not necessary to reduce thespeed. This is an important feature of the construction of the presentinvention, particularly when the track is closed up for an extendedperiod of time, as for example overnight.

ln connection with the lengths of the strings of continuous rail, somerailroads prefer to weld strings of length 1,400 feet together toformcontinuous lengths of l mile or more. The welding is performed on theground, after the 1,400 foot strings are unloaded. The reason forwelding the shorter lengths together after they are unloaded is becausebetter welds are obtained, and additionally, welding the short stringsin-track delays production.

lclaim:

1. ln a construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laidportion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section ofconventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track,during the course of replacement ofthe bolted rail with continuouswelded rail on existing cross ties, without permanently bending orsevering the welded rail; the improvement comprising the combination ofa switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, said switchpoint being supported on the tics with its heel portion connected to theterminal end ofthe laid section of the bolted rail, the tip portionbeing positioned in contiguous relation with the welded rail; meansimmobilizing the switch point in the operative position with respect tothe bolted rail section and the laid portion of the welded rail betweenthe tip and the heel portonof said switch point, comprising a series ofguard rails clamps constructed and arranged in predetermined spacedrelation longitudinally of the switch point between selected adjacentpairs of cross ties, and a plurality of adjustable switch slides securedto selected intermediate ties, with the switch point supported thereon,whereby to close up the track and permit normal train trafc thereover.

2. ln a construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laidportion cfa string of continuous welded rail and a laid sectIon ofconventional bolted rall, constituting one rail of a railway track,during the course of replacement ofthe bolted rail with continuouswelded rail on existing crossties, without permanently bending orsevering the welded rail; the improvement comprising the combination ofa switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, said switchpoint being supported on the ties with its heel portion connected to theterminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail, the tip portionbeing positioned in contiguous relation with the welded rail; whereinthe means immobilizing the switch point in the operative positionrelative to the ties, the bolted rail section and the laid portion ofthewelded rail, comprises a series of guard rail clamps arranged inpredetermined spaced relation longitudinally of the switch point betweenselected adjacent pairs of crossties, an adjustable switch slide securedto one of the ties of each selected pair, and a tie plate :secured toeach of the remaining ties, with the switch point supported on theswitch slides and the tic plates.

3. ln a construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laidportion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section ofconventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track,during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuouswelded rail on existing crossties, without permanently bending orsevering the welded rail; as called for by claim 2, wherein the guardrail clamps of the switch point immobilizing means are positionedbetween pairs of ties at the tip, heel and middle portions,respectively, of the switch pointA

1. In a construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laidportion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section ofconventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track,during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuouswelded rail on existing cross ties, without permanently bending orsevering the welded rail; the improvement comprising the combination ofa switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, said switchpoint being supported on the ties with its heel portion connected to theterminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail, the tip portionbeing positioned in contiguous relation with the welded rail; meansimmobilizing the switch point in the operative position with respect tothe bolted rail section, and the laid portion of the welded rail betweenthe tip and the heel portion of said switch point, comprising a seriesof guard rails clamps constructed and arranged in predetermined spacedrelation longitudinally of the switch point between selected adjacentpairs of cross ties, and a plurality of adjustable switch slides securedto selected intermediate ties, with the switch point supported thereon,whereby to close up the track and permit normal train traffic thereover.2. In a construction for temporarily, operationally connecting the laidportion of a string of continuous welded rail and a laid section ofconventional bolted rail, constituting one rail of a railway track,during the course of replacement of the bolted rail with continuouswelded rail on existing crossties, without permanently bending orsevering the welded rail; the improvement comprising the combination ofa switch point, including a tip portion and a heel portion, said switchpoint being supported on the ties with its heel portion connected to theterminal end of the laid section of the bolted rail, the tip portionbeing positioned in contiguous relation with the welded rail; whereinthe means immobilizing the switch point in the operative positionrelative to the ties, the bolted rail section and the laid portion ofthe welded rail, comprises a series of guard rail clamps arranged inpredetermined spaced relation longitudinally of the switch point betweenselected adjacent pairs of crossties, an adjustable switch slide securedto one of the ties of each selected pair, and a tie plate secured toeach of the remaining ties, with the switch point supported on theswitch slides and the tie plates.
 3. In a construction for temporarily,operationally connecting the laid portion of a string of continuouswelded rail and a laid section of conventional bolted rail, constitutingone rail of a railway track, during the course of replacement of thebolted rail with continuous welded rail on existing crossties, withoutpermanently bending or severing the welded rail; as called for by claim2, wherein the guard rail clamps of the switch point immobilizing meansare positioned between pairs of ties at the tip, heel and middleportions, respectively, of the switch point.